Egyptian Food and Drink

Comparison between Egyptian and Mongolian Food

Criteria

Egyptian Food

Traditional Mongolian Food

Images

Food Source

- Settled river irrigation- In the Early Dynastic Period c.4000 BC, Egyptians first began to settle along the
banks of the Nile and to evolve from hunters and gatherers to settled Farmers- A revolution occurred in food production. Meat ceased to be the chief article of diet and was replaced by plants such as wheat and barley.
- The relatively egalitarian tribal structure of the Nile Valley broke down because of the need to manage and
control the Egyptian Agriculture and the surplus it generated.

- Nomadic herders

Food Security

- Egyptians were relatively secure in the fertile Nile valley
- storage of crops in communal government granaries

As it was difficult to raise livestock on the Egyptian deserts, meat was a luxury, Fish and meat
had to be especially prepared for storage. One method was salting. Another was to hang up the fish in the sun, which baked
them dry.

Main Diet - dependent on meat and animal products for their dietary staples. Animals include sheep, cattle, goats, camels and horses

Bread

The basic food was bread - wheat was the most important crop used to make bread

Bread wasuncommon, flour was used to make noodles in some areas

Sugar

Sugar was unknown - honey was used as a sweetener by the rich, and poor people used dates and fruit juices

Wine was produced by the first Dynasty in extensive cellars.
Accurate records were kept of the vintages and quality of wines, jars were clearly labeled. Wine was a luxury and the main consumption took place as:

In party scenes on the tomb walls,
there are a number of images depicting the guests throwing up or being carried home because of their
drunken state, drunkenness was seen as an amusement.- Hathor was the goddess
of wine and beer, temples associated
with the goddess had their own vineyards to make sure that the celebrants had enough wine for the
rituals.